Going lighter for mullet.. and pike, perch, chub, trout and barbel??!!

The more I get my head around this modern lure fishing business, the more I am beginning to understand about its vast number of applications. Since a young age I have learnt much of what I know through reading books and of course through getting out there and fishing, much of which I have done with specialist equipment targeting specific species with the appropriate bait and tackle. With the current revolution we have on our hands it seems now I am able to grab a couple of little lure boxes, a rod, reel and a small bag of essentials and off I go to see what's about and what's likely to smash a lure up on that given day. I am continuing to be surprised by the results and part of my growing love for lure fishing has a lot to do with its versatility. Certain species I would never have associated with lures all seem to have their moments and with the vast array of soft plastics available today there's always something in the box that's likely to unleash the predatory side of some of the most unlikely of candidates.

With all that in mind, myself and Stuart have been venturing back onto the rivers and streams where we both began our obsessions with all things fishy and have been applying our new skills to any willing freshwater species. This has been a real pleasure as it has been so many years since I have partaken in any coarse fishing; the feeling of anticipation whilst trekking through a misty field in the morning has certainly brought back some memories and whilst there's no comparison to navigating the local coastline those feelings of nostalgia have reminded me where my love for fishing originated.

We had initially decided to get back on the rivers to target some perch as we had both loved doing so as youngsters usually with a trotted juicy worm or a small spinner or plug. Almost thirty years later I was approaching my quarry with a Bass Assassin 2" Curly Shad mounted on a #6 2g jighead (all available from AGM Products). Almost straight away our plans had changed after spotting a few chub following our lures and after not too many casts I managed to hook myself one. Far from a monster but perfectly matched to my LRF gear.

Carrying on in the same fashion we managed a couple more and after remembering what we had come for we then started to nail a few perch. In the following week any spare moments were spent on the local rivers and lakes with one spot very close to home that just kept throwing up pike whenever I chucked a lure out there.. Unfortunately they got smaller and smaller each time which was strangely interesting being able to study these creatures in their infant state.

Stuart had also carried on his campaign and continuing to exploit the versatility of the lightweight lure he e-mailed me earlier today with these pictures of a nice little brownie and, low and behold his first lure-caught barbel!! Well done Sir!! It'll be interesting playing catch up with that one!

And finally to round things off of course I've been keeping an eye in on the salt. I have been meaning to try my lightweight kit out on the mullet this year and last week I managed to get down to a spot and get the job done. I wasn't sure how things would go but I wanted to use my 2-7g Sakura Shinjin with my 6lb braid and see if I could redeem myself after letting a cracker get the better of me last year. Marukyu Power Isome trailed behind an adapted Mepps spinner with a short trace was used at the business end and after changing from a pink to green Isome I had this little beauty dive in for the grab and then power off resulting an epic fight lasting for several minutes.

Phew..!! There's been plenty caught anyway and I hope to continue in the same fashion throughout the rest of the year. I'm hoping to get a waterproof camera at some point as the screen on my windows phone has cracked and my old camera has died meaning missed opportunities photographing some decent pollock and wrasse sessions.

That's all for now anyway and thanks for reading as always!!

Mackerel on metals amongst other stuff!

It’s been an awesome few weeks and being the summer holidays I've been catching up with friends and family that have come to Dorset for a break. As always I've found the odd spare moment to go and chuck a lure or two, being if I have a willing guest or not; This was me and my good friend Dan Edwards giving him a taste of the action, I'm hoping he caught the buzz - my pursuits are not always for the faint hearted.

Lots of my favourite places to fish are now covered in beach towels and tourists so that’s meant on occasion having to go a bit AWOL in order to get away from the crowds. Some long hikes have been involved but we've been well rewarded as a result. I've also had a new companion to join me on my travels for the past week, meet my brothers dog Monte. I wasn't sure what he was going to make of his stay in Dorset but it turns out he’s a true rock fisherman through and through. He’s been great company and I think he approves of his holiday with Uncle James; I’ll be looking forward to him coming out with me again in the next week.

With most sessions being a bit more opportunistic than usual, it’s generally the case that we take time at the start trying a few things to see what fish are about and what lure they’re going to hit. The one saviour of my arsenal every time is something metal, it doesn't matter about you’re level of capability or what the conditions are like, cast out some metal at this time of year and sooner or later you will catch fish. When friends have come to visit that want to have a bash on the salt it’s always been the metals that are easy for them to pick up and get instant results with regardless of their capability. They’re an awesome way to catch a variety of species. Mackerel are especially great fun; this one in particular made a pretty good account for itself earlier in the week putting a powerful bend in my Major Craft and stripping line from my reel in an epic scrap. The biggest mackerel I've ever caught coming in at 39cm.

Metal casting lures are also pretty handy for the bass and pollock. We generally like to launch these out as far as possible into some deep running water, then sink and draw and twitch to ones heart’s content. Single hooks all the way and a good understanding of the terrain below the surface allows you to search around at all depths and quickly find out where the action is happening. Always remembering to retrieve right to your feet as you never know what’s lurking right below you.

A few of our favourites

Left to right;

• ·         Dexter wedge – I'm never without a few of these. Casts well and works every time
• ·         Quantum Mahi Jig – Quality value jigs, the glow-in-the-dark one is ace
• ·         Seaspin Leppa – Cast well and look great but finishing coat could be harder-wearing.
• ·         IMA Gun – Crème de- la crème of metal lures – looks casts and swims like dream! Beauties!

Of course the plastics were in use when possible and I'm still getting side tracked by the odd wrassing session or two.

That's all for now anyway, thanks for reading!!

Time for some bassin!

With my massive preoccupation this year regarding battling wrasse on light tackle I have forfeited many a chance of pursuing everyone’s favourite quarry, the European Seabass. Hunting out a decent wrasse on the rocks has lead me away from my home turf this year and with increasing reports of some decent bass caught in my local area I was beginning to feel a little left-out and rather inferior to say the least.

With all that in mind and with some big spring tides coinciding with sun-down it seemed fairly appropriate to put down the wrassing gear and see if I still had what it takes to hunt out a lure-caught bass. On the intended evening everything looked perfect, slightly overcast and with a swift south-westerly breeze pushing across the harbour. I arrived at my intended mark only to take one quick look and turn straight around and get back in the car. The seabed had been churned up to such an extent that the silt and clay bottom had now turned the sea to something more like chocolate milk and with doubt in my mind I opted for a quick move to a slightly cleaner mark. My decision turned out to be a good one and on arrival with the wind in my face I could see the water was cloudy with sand but still with a level of visibility. I hoped this would make it easier for a bass to search out my lure and with a confident attitude I set up my rod and equipped myself with an ever-trusty, weedless-rigged X-layer.

With the wind in my face, punching my lure into the surf I instantly remembered why and how much I loved these lures. Twitching away I became instantly at one with my surroundings and as the tide pushed in around me I felt confident that I had done the right thing by moving location. Having had only a couple of casts to settle in I was instantly woken by some resistance and in a flash I had remembered the feeling of a bass hoovering in your lure and was quick to strike hoping to fully set my weedless hook. Next came the familiar rush as a decent bass surged on a run trying to get the better of me. With my regular bullying of wrasse more recently I reacted in a similar manner and instantly remembered how different it was with a bass on the other end. Getting it to the surface with its bucket mouth in view I was looking to get hold of the fish when it decided to turn and power off below the surface ripping back the yards of line from my reel I had just gained and refusing to give up. After a spirited battle I managed to get down and grab the lovely bass of around 3lb. (No scales or camera due to them both being broken so camera phone and guesstimate weight it was!). 

Pretty chuffed that it had all worked out so well I carried on into the last hour of light missing one other take but still happy with my first real attempt on the bass this year. That’s definitely re-lit the fire for me and it’s safe to say that my dreams have become a little less wrassy and a bit more bassy! I’m still keen to improve on my PB wrasse but might try and focus on the bass for the next few months when the conditions are right.
That's all for now anyway, thanks for reading as always!!

Better late than never

Yes that's right the mackerel have arrived! Unfortunately as predicted not in the numbers that we would usually expect. The water temperatures are still a few degrees below our average for this time of year but nonetheless this 'too-tasty for its own-good' fish has most certainly been thin on the ground in comparison to previous years.

Not that it has much impact on the grand scheme of things but personally I don’t buy into commercial fishing and that means at some point in the season I'm going to kill fish in order for me to eat something tasty. 

Mackerel with sauté potatoes, chorizo and cherry tomatoes

I've also been back out targeting the wrasse which are rapidly becoming my favourite sport-fish. With a new-found love for my 2-7 gram rod I am continuing to hone my skills and feel much more confident with the set-up than I did last year. I think now that I have become accustomed to the rough environments we frequent and know what to expect from our intended quarry, I have become more willing, and able to push my tackle to its limits. 

I still have to nail a lot of smaller fish to get the odd specimen but that to me is where the fun is at. I'm glad to have come full-circle and am back in line with my early days as a young course-angler fishing for various species such as roach and chub on light-float tackle. I think that's always been my thing and although beach-fishing was an integral part of my transition to salt-water, I'm pretty sure the tripod and multipliers are now relegated for the foreseeable future. 

Short and sweet this time, thanks for reading as always.. I'm off to make the most of our British summer.., it'll be gone again before we know it!!

Love it when a plan comes together!

Having a few hours to spare yesterday afternoon I had planned to get out on the wrasse again. Due to my Quantum Smoke not willing to play ball I had sent it back for a repair leaving my HRF setup without a reel (More about that in another post!). So it was time to dust off the 2-7g Sakura Shinjin and Alpax 2000 reel and cross my fingers hoping for the best.

I planned to hit two of my favourite marks fishing the first one for a couple of hours up to high tide, then retreating to a more sheltered venue before it all got a bit too gnarly for me and my LRF gear.

Upon reaching my first mark things seemed settled enough and knowing how quickly things can change there I eagerly got about setting up my texas rig and began fishing. I was instantly getting a few tell-tale nibbles and before long had landed a couple of pound-size fish. It was great to be fishing with the Sakura setup again and it was bringing back fond memories of my introduction to saltwater-lure fishing around 11 months ago. Happily sifting through my thoughts I carried on twitching and resting my lure around the rocks and kelp enjoying the beautiful scenery and soaking up the afternoon sunshine. Interrupting the tranquillity for a brief moment I noticed a knock on the line and laid my lure to rest. Unlike the aggressive takes I have become accustomed to with wrasse, this felt as if it had just picked up my lure and was gently sucking on it for size. Slowly lifting my rod and feeling it nibble again I decided to strike and boy was I in for a surprise. Momentarily thinking I was snagged, the Shinjin bent double and then came a run from something on the other end instantly stripping line from my reel in sharp bursts. Knowing it was a decent fish I kept on as much strain as I could to prevent it from returning to its lair, it refused to come up off the bottom and all I could do was hang on and try to keep it from running me aground. After several runs along the ledge below trying to chafe my leader I had managed to guide the fish up off the bottom and towards the surface. Fully fuelled on adrenalin I almost had a heart attack when I saw the huge orange head of a wrasse break the surface, I knew it was unlike any other I had caught before and with my LRF setup at full strain I didn't hesitate in jumping into the water on the ledge below in order to retrieve the fish.

In full-on panic mode I managed to find the self-timer setting on my camera for the first time and captured the moment before another quick photo and back onto the ledge to return this beautiful specimen of around 3lb. I need some practice with the timer mode as you can see, probably best not to have the sun behind you James but who wants to see your head anyway!!

My two hours at the deep water mark were up and as predicted conditions changed for the worse and it was time to head for my next location. Absolutely buzzing and soaked through from the knee down I managed to ascend my escape route in record timing and jumped in the car for a quick drive.
On arrival conditions again were perfect and feeling rather pleased with myself to say the least, I quickly got about finding a rock to perch on and set up my gear. First cast and nip-nip, then bang straight into another good fish. This time smaller but nonetheless a great scrap on my LRF gear.

Carrying on down the beach it was fish after fish with wrasse jumping out from the kelp and nailing my lures on almost every cast. Mostly smaller fish but as my photography needs all the help it can get I was happy to carry on snapping a few of these colourful creatures.

Most fish fell to my favourite soft-lure of the moment, The Sawamura One' Up shad available from www.mrfishjersey.com. An awesome service and an amazing selection of lures and tackle that you'll find hard to beat anywhere.

All in all a fantastic way to spend the afternoon and with soggy trainers intact I headed home for a well earned cup of tea and some dinner. Unfortunately my usual partner in crime Stu was unable to attend due to family commitments. On chatting later I found out he had managed to get out briefly and nail his first 3 bass of the year, and drop a hungry plaice that had smashed his lure on a very slow retrieve. Safe to say we were both pretty pleased with our efforts!

That's all for now anyway so thanks for reading. I'd like to say I'll attempt to get onto some different species in the near future but for now I'm well and truly preoccupied with the wrasse. They're such good fun and on light gear can really get your heart racing. I am planning to get back onto the rivers this season and try out my new techniques on species such as perch and pike. It's been years since I migrated from course to sea fishing and with so many amazing places around me to fish I don't think it will be long before I give it a go so watch this space!! Bye bye for now!!

Paddletail fetish and redundant plastics!!

It seems I just can’t get enough of catching wrasse on lures. It was this time last year that I decided to bite the bullet and start experimenting with lightweight lure fishing. Wrasse and pollock would never have been my intended quarry up until then but now I’m a full-time, rough-ground addict!!

After the initial surge of building a suitable lure collection, I have now established some serious favourites and it seems the majority is now relegated to the Tupperware’s and biscuit tins surrounding me in my office. If you like big-boys toys then you too are likely to have been sucked in and now have many boxes of plastics in various colours, shapes and styles. It seems more than ever that the lure market is as good at hooking fish as it is the customer and I for one have been guilty of thinking any new bit of sparkle is a must have if I'm to make the most out of my sessions. This of course isn't true and the more I learn, the less that seems to go into my bag each time I go fishing. I'm also remembering why I set out on this journey and that was predominantly to fish lighter!! 

During most sessions last year I was leaving home with everything I had acquired, including jig heads, lures (hard and soft), weights, hooks, leaders etc.. It was defeating the object of going lighter but I suppose at the time I was unsure of the right tackle for the situation and didn't want to be caught short on the rocks without the right gear. It seems now with more experience I've become better at assessing the situation beforehand and now only leave home with the bare minimum. For one it’s lighter to carry and above all, it’s easier to find what you’re looking for in your bag and organise things so it's there to hand when you need it. I've always been a bit OCD and if you’re remotely similar you‘ll know the impact that good organisation can make to a days fishing. I'm hoping as the year progresses I will find a need for the excess tackle but for now it seems that in most situations I will fish a weedless hook, soft plastic lure and maybe a small nose weight running free on the leader. Jigheads would just be a nightmare in the kelp and even over clean ground I find myself adopting texas-style rigging to limit dragging in any floating bits of weed which are everywhere at this time of the year after a good blow. 

There’s also the matter of my serious fetish for paddle-tails this year! Senkos and X-layers were becoming my favourite styles last year but now it seems I have found extra confidence with lures such as the awesome Sawamura One’ Up Shad and the Keitech Easy Shiner. 

Both have added impregnated scents but the movement as soon as the lure hits the water seems to drive some fish into a feeding frenzy. I now refer to these as Haribo for wrasse and whilst not being the cheapest lures to let them rip to shreds they do pay for themselves with the amount of fish you catch.

Anyway, enough waffle for now, time for some fishy photos. Needless to say it’s been wrasse, wrasse and more wrasse. Don’t think I’ll ever get tired of catching these beautiful fish. Well done to Stuart on nailing that fatty that ran you aground last time!! Thanks for reading!!

Wrasse on lures again!!

It’s been another great weekend exploring the local coastline and as always we've met plenty of people along the way; Most of them lovely, genuine sea-caring people but of course there’s always the odd one who seems more intent on killing everything he lands with no consideration for others or the environment around him. It's such a shame there are still some people out there giving us anglers a bad name, leaving rubbish on the beach and not to mention shoving baby school bass into carrier bags without conscience. I'm constantly trying to explain to these people how young these fish are and how we need to look after our resources for future generations. I never get much of a response and if I do its some rubbish like 'they all swallowed the hooks'! Hmm.. Really??! I know a shore fishermen has little impact on our seas in comparison to a commercial boat but I believe anyone who fishes should be made to understand the lifespan of anything they catch, observe the size limits that are put in place for a reason and treat our seas with the respect it deserves.... There, that's that off my chest!! Anyway, about those lovely people!! I can’t help but notice the vast number of anglers, like myself who are new to lure fishing but still unaware of the variety of species that can be targeted with artificial baits. Many still seem intent on catching bass and if you are fishing catch and release as you say you intend to, then why are you ignoring the great fun that can be had with hard fighting species such as wrasse.

If want to give it a go you’re best off fishing a weedless set-up like the one below bumping your lure along the bottom or simply ‘dead sticking’ your bait in a more static manner as you would with touch bait fishing.

Wrasse tend to inhabit rough ground, so if you find boulders and jungles of kelp and bladderwrack then you’re sure to find them in numbers. As I understand at this time of year like other species, wrasse move inshore in order to find a safe haven to deposit their eggs. They are highly territorial creatures and will defend their nests with serious aggression and it seems in the process they’re quite partial to turning that fight into a convenient dinnertime.

Our latest trips have found myself and Stuart intent on hunting down these rocket fuelled little beauties and we've found some pretty stunning places to do exactly that.

It’s not all fun and games and after witnessing two rock falls in the past two sessions we've become increasingly conscious of the safety element involved in reaching our chosen marks. Waders keep us away from the base of the cliffs and I can only cringe when I see families setting up picnics in exactly the same spots we habitually try to avoid.  I attempted to capture the aftermath of one of the falls, notice the cloud of dust at the side of the cliffs.

In our last evening session we managed to bag a good few fish each such as this greedy little bugger that managed to scoff a whole x-layer.

Another lure that seemed to be working well that evening was the Culprit 4" Dropshot Worm in Smoke/Black & Purple Fleck from agmdiscountfishing.co.uk. I'm sure there's going to be plenty more wrasse falling to this one!

Stuart also hooked a clonker on a Megabass Inch-Zic which we unfortunately didn't get to see as it ran him aground on some kelp and managed to escape our photoshoot. I don’t think I've seen his Lucky Craft ESG II bent like that before but it most certainly would have been his biggest wrasse to date. Safe to say he was pretty annoyed to lose it, sure you’ll nail him next time anyway mate.:)

I’ll leave on that note and hopefully next time as we scale the lures up we’ll get onto some more specimen sized fish. Thanks for reading as always and good luck nailing a lure-caught wrasse of your own!!